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See the original image at gamesradar.com —

Are Multiplayer Online Games a Stupid Way to Look for Love?

gamesradar.com — ‘Find love ’. That’s it. I have to find love in a videogame. This actually makes sense. Not many girls play videogames, which makes them an incredibly efficient social filter: you instantly cut out the majority of girls who have little interest in games and would only get sick of you talking about them all the time.

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  • irfanmp, on 07/21/2008, -3/+36Find love? I think I found love in that thumbnail...
  • MotoFly, on 07/21/2008, -0/+20I am sorry, but a Power Word: Fortitude buff does not equal love.
    • BoonTobias, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2that word minds me of commodus
    • Dralite, on 07/22/2008, -6/+1I don't know why, but for a second I thought you made up the word fortitude... guess i was thinking forgetitude...
    • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -8/+1I don't think anyone said it did.

      I would put it to you that you're trying to prove that you know something about the game when that is clearly not the case -- and even more embarrassing for you, that you want people to think you know about WoW.

      Sucks to be you, I suppose.
      • MotoFly, on 07/22/2008, -0/+4No, I actually played Wow for about a year. Got up to lvl 70. Quitting was a very good decision. It was way to addicting and I actually started to cancel things in real life to make time for playing WoW. I haven't played in over a year, but I still find myself having occasional chats with people who still play and it's kind of funny/disturbing to see how much of that game is still engraved into my mind.

        Please don't make judgments about me based on one sentence.
    • WernerCD, on 07/22/2008, -0/+10I have to be to differ... I play a priest. I met a warrior, who I grouped with often. We became friends. She became single. Now I live 700 miles from where I was and she's the best thing to ever happen to my life.

      I never would have gotten to know her so well without... Fortitude and Greater Heals.
      • Hotrox, on 07/22/2008, -11/+1She's the warrior and you're the priest? Rofl, even if you had some sort of real relationship with this woman I have a feeling I know who'd be wearing the pants. Online love...HAHAHA.
  • noahgelman, on 07/21/2008, -2/+30I don't think it matters how someone finds love, what's important is that they've found it. I don't like it when people make fun of 'abnormal' ways of finding love. You don't always find love in person. Kudos to all.
    • 3tcp, on 07/22/2008, -0/+7m&m kudos are the best
    • ericrous, on 07/22/2008, -6/+8No one is saying it's IMPOSSIBLE to find love this way, only that it's highly unlikely (way more trouble than just going to some real world social venue). In real world social venues, you might have to learn some social skills and get rejected a bunch of times, but at least you would know that the woman you're talking to is actually a real woman. Most "women" online are dudes and even the ones who are actually female are often loathe to establish a real world relationship (outside of the game), which basically makes it no "relationship" at all (if you can't trust someone with your real name and phone number then you have no real connection, period).
      .
      There ARE online venues where you can connect (my best friend married a woman he met on a message board). But MMORPG's and online "worlds" generally aren't such venues.
      • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -0/+7You make it sound like you have done some sort of statistical analysis of the situation, continuing to use this fabricated confidence to debunk the possibility of games as a social medium. I find it disgusting the amount of people that play into the stigma attached to online games, especially in a place like this. Stop sounding like an academic writing a paper, unless you're going to cite your facts at the same time.

        Where are my facts? Count the amount of times the phrase 'living in their mother's basement' occurs in this set of comments.
      • WernerCD, on 07/22/2008, -0/+7Well... What makes traditional "real world" venues *THAT* much better? Big deal... you can talk to a woman. Don't mean either of you are honest with each other or have anything in common.

        How often do people meet IRL, spend time woo-ing each other. Then after they fall in love, realize that half of what they married was an act to win the other? Imperfections hidden or glossed over because one side wanted to win the other.

        At least when you meet someone gaming, your meeting someone who you automagically have at least one thing in common - and that's not something you are guaranteed to have in common with some girl from a bar.

        I don't think online meetings are miracles... but as others say it's not about how popular it is, or how likely it is - just don't leave out an unconventional venue that might lead success.
    • Noodleson, on 07/22/2008, -0/+5Yeah, if you're into a game so much that you'd be willing to try dating off of it, why not? At least you know you'll have something in common.
    • Paulish, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1I think someone found love in prison.
  • CrudeDarkness, on 07/21/2008, -11/+6when playstation home comes out, you're going to see a lot of flirting. Nerds who couldn't meet girls in real life would be able to do so in home. Now you know why some people can't wait to play it.
    • tykwondingo, on 07/21/2008, -1/+11unfortunately, they will all (most likely) still fail miserably at flirting@home.
    • ericrous, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2If it weren't so creepy, I'd be tempted to make a female avatar just to get others to buy stuff for me. I've heard of this happening in WoW and other MMORPG's. Pretty sad, really.
    • NoamChimpsky, on 07/22/2008, -6/+2Yeah, because we didn't already have:

      -chat rooms
      -instant messages
      -email
      -social network sites [myspace, et al]
      -mmorpgs & online guilds
      -online personals
      -message boards and fan community sites

      THANK GOD Sony is bringing us a way to communicate via the interwebs. I don't know HOW creepy 40 year-old men EVER picked up "cyber-dates" before.

      Dumb@$$.

      You forgot to mention how "teh cell" allows for superior fake, I mean online, dating technology.
      • eyefork2, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1I like how you put "teh cell" in quotes but say "Dumb@$$" instead of dumbass like it's normal.
    • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -2/+7People labelling other people as nerds on digg means either one or both of these two things:

      1. You're american
      2. You're an idiot
      • apena89, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I think you just needed to say the first one.
    • apena89, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1one would only hope that there are a good ratio of female to male on PSN.
      If not: "I'm here for the gang bang!"
  • FuryOfThor, on 07/21/2008, -1/+9at least a virtual honeymoon would be a lot cheaper.
  • macaca, on 07/21/2008, -7/+2That ***** sexy thumbnail made me read this article. Mr. Babyman did you hear me?
  • Haoie, on 07/21/2008, -1/+80As Comic Book Guy once said:

    I was married once, in an online role playing game. We considered having children, but that would've severely drained my power crystals.
  • electricwaffles, on 07/21/2008, -3/+57"Are Multiplayer Online Games a Stupid Way to Look for Love?"

    Yes.
    • Stupidumb, on 07/22/2008, -1/+2Your way is faster.
    • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -6/+8Are Digg comments a quick way to prove your ignorance?

      Absolutely!
      • Antz0rz, on 07/22/2008, -2/+3Are you honestly saying its possibly not a bad way to look for love? Seriously?
    • Stavrosian, on 07/22/2008, -3/+4Absolutely ridiculous way to look for love, I agree. Not to say that people don't meet and hook up through them, the same as through any other social medium, but if you are actively trying to find romance in a virtual world filled with ogres, wizards and people shouting "LOL NOOB" then you have problems.

      Anyway, I'd better be off. I'm going cruising for chicks in Xarcabard.
    • ellecon, on 07/22/2008, -1/+2It seems more sad than stupid, especially since a person has no way of knowing whether or not the person they are trying to pick up is of the appropriate gender. Even if you do happen upon a real female, she could very well be a 300lb lady with acne and a schizo affective disorder.

      Plus, the real outdoor world is an amazing place which offers a much richer life experience than a game. You can smell the trees, feel the sun, hear the birds and breathe fresh air. It's healthier than a game, and you likely will never have to ask the people you meet what their true gender is.

      Taking a small fraction of the time devoted to gaming and learning to say "Hi" to women IRL is a much more worthy pursuit.
      • danibobanny, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2Meeting someone in an MMO really is neither sad nor stupid. It gives you a chance to get to know each other as people, rather than as "that cute guy" or "the hot chick at the coffee shop." It's also helpful when a significant other has the same hobby as you. I know plenty of people who have met and married people they met online in MMO's, including myself. It's also an amusing story to tell when people ask how you met: "Well there I was at the entrance of Greenmire Grave, just north of Shoushi..."
  • kataztrophy, on 07/22/2008, -0/+4Dating sites are not considered stupid to most people...


    ...But an online video game is not made for people to hook up long distance.
    • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -2/+3Dating sites, perhaps, might be a little more forced -- since everyone is there for the same reason, and everyone knows what to expect.

      This isn't so with online games. Socializing, for the most part, will come second to the game. This would make it all the harder to find someone in an online game, but it's much the same as meeting someone in the workplace.
      • MisterEX, on 07/22/2008, -3/+1It's nothing like meeting someone in a workplace, unless they work in another office on the other side of the country that you never meet and only need to email or instant message when you have a request.

        Meeting someone in person will NEVER compare to meeting someone over any electronic medium, no matter how personal it may seem.
      • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -2/+3Someone's never played an MMO
  • MechaZain, on 07/22/2008, -2/+11The fact that this question had to be asked makes me fear for my species.
  • zaii7, on 07/22/2008, -2/+13Yes , yes it is
  • CollapseControl, on 07/22/2008, -1/+13Couples being made through online video games has happened. But it still doesn't mean that the relationship won't fail just like a normal one would.

    I wonder how many relationships broke down because the guy gamer wouldn't use his last medipack on his girl friend gamer when she needed it most.

    Or how the guy gamer didn't compliment the new look of the females new character/avatar.
  • Ljay90, on 07/22/2008, -21/+57............................................________........................
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    • sysop073, on 07/22/2008, -5/+3It's getting to the point where I may write a greasemonkey script to detect this ascii art and automatically filter it out
  • Vegabondsx, on 07/22/2008, -1/+21You can find love, then find that it's a single male 100lbs overweight living in his parent's basement... but darn, his avatar is hot.
    • 45ish, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1At least it's cool in the basement. Less sweating for the chubby guy.
  • BradOFarrell, on 07/22/2008, -3/+2Yes.
  • ericrous, on 07/22/2008, -2/+18No, they're great...if you're looking for another guy to marry.
    • 45ish, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1another? hehe. Yeah, I'm in that boat too.
  • duckyinc, on 07/22/2008, -1/+10"Since my existing EVE characters were all startlingly attractive women"
    Do I need to say more?
    • 45ish, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Well, could ya tone it down a bit so the other ava can focus on killing you?
  • Rudegar, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2like with murders in prison chicks are lining up to date Leroy :P
  • Eezyville, on 07/22/2008, -1/+5Why does that thumbnail look familiar?
  • seanmx, on 07/22/2008, -2/+5Dont worry about reading the article. The answer is no.
  • dorkino, on 07/22/2008, -2/+9You can find love online in a video game, but you have to be willing to accept the fact that she is going to be an attention whoring princess who is "loved" by every single guy in the game.
    • NoamChimpsky, on 07/22/2008, -1/+4Dork-

      Wow, you just described an old girlfriend of mine to the letter. Only problem, I met her in REAL LIFE and wasn't prepared for all of her "online friends". She had serious NEED issues, and if I wasn't spending all of my time and money on her she would go running to one of these "Friends" who would slobber all over her online.

      Seriously, you do have to wonder about the creepy, socially inept men trolling for love online. We hear about them, and their mothers' basements, all the time. But, you have to wonder equally about the "attention whoring princesses" who feed on the adoration of so many men like a freakin' succubus.

      K-rist.
    • cruzinhe, on 07/22/2008, -1/+3Aren't them all attention whoring princesses??
  • pradvan, on 07/22/2008, -1/+13i know a few couples that met in game, who are married w/ kids now
  • scififan9009, on 07/22/2008, -7/+3Yes, unless of course you're interested in dating 40 year old dudes who think and act like teenage chicks.
    • scififan9009, on 07/22/2008, -3/+1Huh, my comment's gone from +3 to -1 diggs. I guess that means the "interested in dating 40 year old dudes who think and act like teenage chicks" crowd is out in full force on Digg today?

      :D
  • blah247, on 07/22/2008, -7/+2Finding a girlfriend is great in a video game... until you find out that all this time you were hitting on a 'mangina'....
  • alperea, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2Try picking an undead to look for chicks, that's a whole different game.
  • estvir, on 07/22/2008, -1/+6Eh, to actively LOOK for love in online games is stupid but I'm sure there are those freak examples where people who were playing the game, for the game, met someone and got married.

    But really, I wouldn't go looking to find love in online games and I shiver and the thought of anyone trying to do so.
  • plundstedt, on 07/22/2008, -0/+10Call it a stupid way, but my cousin and her husband met on a WoW quest. Now they're married and have three kids.
    • mojoel, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1I'm NOT saying that's impossible. But WoW has been out what, four years? Married and three kids in four years? Not if they kept playing WoW.
      • NoamChimpsky, on 07/22/2008, -1/+2Mojo-

        He meant that their WoW characters were married and had three kids, obviously.
      • acid_jazz, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1adoption?
    • eyefork2, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1Maybe she had triplets. Or they're clones.
    • plundstedt, on 07/22/2008, -0/+3Real kids. And yeah, they swore to each other no more WoW after they got married...
    • valium1616, on 08/17/2008, -0/+0They met on wow and then promised to never play wow again? Were they afraid that they may meet new people?
  • blah247, on 07/22/2008, -6/+3Finding a girlfriend is great in a video game... until you find out that all this time you were hitting on a 'mangina'....
  • gameradam, on 07/22/2008, -3/+2"Are Multiplayer Online Games a Stupid Way to Look for Love?"

    Well if your into boy love, then yes.
  • MediaCrisis, on 07/22/2008, -1/+4Ugh *flashback to any MMO played with a feminine handle*

    Maybe it is possible to make friends, but the guys who hit on anything with ***** (digital or real) kinda put a damper things.

    Granted, I have friends who have dated their WoW buddies. Have yet to see one of those end well. Funny story involving hair pulling and golden showers though!
  • feelmypimphand, on 07/22/2008, -7/+2Better to love your own joystick than bitches that distribute itches.
  • Spartyon, on 07/22/2008, -0/+3this was the thumbnail for another story on the front page....not necessarily a bad thing
  • Cyrock, on 07/22/2008, -7/+2Your uber sword of +9 ***** hitting really turns me on!
  • sb66, on 07/22/2008, -8/+3What a ***** joke
  • krhunt, on 07/22/2008, -0/+15I met my wife on a MUD. We've been together for almost 8 years, married for 5, have one son together and another on the way. Even in text, we clicked immediately.

    That said, even if you manage to find love in a MMOG, good luck explaining it to your grandparents and casual acquaintances. The "how did you two meet" question inevitably launches us into a ten minute conversation in which we have to explain the very concept of multiplayer RPGs. Try that with a hard-of-hearing 80-year-old man sometime and just see how it goes.
    • Jebra, on 07/22/2008, -0/+3Haha, yeah. My boyfriend and I met on an MMO four years ago, it's absolutely annoying trying to explain it to other people. Half the time, I just say we met on vacation (which is still true) when acquaintances or strangers ask. Most people think that meeting online = dating sites and chatrooms thanks to TV and 20/20 segments. Hard to get people to realize that not everyone online is actively looking for a relationship, sometimes it just happens.
    • dshigure, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2Probably the easiest solution is to tell people that you don't feel like explaining it to where you and her first met in real life. Just tell your "in the know" crowd about how you met on the MUD.
  • karmathestrange, on 07/22/2008, -0/+5Ok who read the article and who just hurried in here to leave a comment on the headline?

    ((grumble))
    • feelmypimphand, on 07/22/2008, -1/+1Screw the articles - Cut straight to the ***** in the comments. It's all ***** anyways.
  • Mavital, on 07/22/2008, -1/+5Or just teach your current girlfriend how to play games. Much better, and you won't inherit all those bad gamer habits, which mainly deal with hygiene.

  • PeterFile, on 07/22/2008, -2/+5Me and my girlfriend met in Ragnarok, and we've been together for 2 and a half years. She lives in Austria, and I live in England. We met for the first time for a few weeks about a month ago, and I seriously had the best time of my life. As soon as I came back I booked another ticket to go, and i'm going in 9 days. I'm 18.
    • ahhell, on 07/22/2008, -2/+5You were "together" for 2 and half years but met for the first time about a month ago??!

      /facepalm
      • PeterFile, on 07/22/2008, -3/+2By together I mean boyfriend and girlfriend, isn't that obvious?
      • MisterEX, on 07/22/2008, -0/+6WOOOOOOSH!
      • Hotrox, on 07/22/2008, -4/+1Come on guys this sounds legit. I've been dating a night elf for three years now and, though we've never met in person, I've been promised that my mind will be blown when we do. Yeah, yeah that's the ticket.
  • minorthreat, on 07/22/2008, -5/+2I was looking for love in all the wrong places
    Looking for love in too many faces
    Searching your eyes, looking for traces
    Of what.. I'm dreaming of...
    Hopin' to find a friend and a lover
    God bless the day I discover
    Another heart, lookin' for love

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3huC-42N1Gs
  • spekulyst, on 07/22/2008, -0/+3Actually...this is a well done article and the author does a good job at exploring the topic...
  • DeFex, on 07/22/2008, -2/+1yes, they are.
  • Ellipsys, on 07/22/2008, -1/+9[Insert snarky comment here] Okay, now that's out of the way. Personally, I think that meeting someone on a persistent online gaming world is probably more effective than many dating sites, or other ways of meeting First of all, you know right away that you share a common interest. Look at the profile on an average dating site " I like food, and people, and talking. And going out. And staying in. Oh, and I'm culturally aware and outdoorsy, but also don't mind cudding at home watching a movie, too" Everyone generally says the same generic ***** that is designed to make them sound attractive to a large group of people. MMOs, you don't have to worry about that. You at least have a common bond and people can reveal themselves in a safe environment, on their own terms. Secondly, if you're meeting the person behind the character, you can't afford to be a creep - you have to be friends first. Real women who play online games are generally bombarded by male attention, positive and negative. Some may choose to even change their avatar's gender because of it. If you're going to talk to a real female player, you will cultivate a friendship over a long period of time. This can eventually lead to a relationship where both parties are comfortable with each other, eliminating the "courtship persona" phase so common with meeting someone another way and knowing little about them. Finally, any real world relationship that grows shall do so in such a way that it could "test" the people involved. For instance, distance is often a major factor. If both parties feel the relationship is worthwhile despite not being in the same time zone, that really says something. I'm not sure why we as a culture approve of getting drunk off your ass in a smoky, dark bar or making awkward conversation with a barista at the local coffee house as paths to romance, yet look down upon those who meet doing something they both enjoy that just happens to be slaying dragons three nights a week.
  • catcher6250, on 07/22/2008, -2/+1Yes
  • toxicityj, on 07/22/2008, -1/+3if you manage to find love on a multiplayer online game and it works out, good for you. But don't go LOOKING for love on an online game...
  • rowlodge, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1i guess thats why i usually rip my opponents to pieces ,they talk when they should play.
  • mentalone, on 07/22/2008, -0/+18You guys can knock it all you want. I met my girlfriend 10 years ago playing Everquest.

    We were in a raiding guild, got along, and did everything together in game. Nothing serious, we were just good friends and chose to play together.

    5 years ago, she invited me to come to a barbecue and finally meet her. We got along even better in person, and I found myself moving in with her to go to college. Shortly after we hooked up and have been together for those 5 years irl.

    I would never have met her if it were not for everquest, and even though i hate all the time I lost to it (over 400 days played when i quit), I can not speak badly about it for that reason.

  • Sommerlost, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2My wife had a co-worker that was really into everquest, she meet her husband there too and they both moved down to Louisiana. About a year later he started cheating on her with another cyber romance on everquest, when she confronted him, he beat the ***** out of her and threatened to leave her.

    She finally gathered the balls to leave him and take their kid with her and go back to her home state. Sadly he followed her up there and wormed his way back in.

    It puzzles me to think of an Everquest player beating his wife.
    • MiDri, on 07/22/2008, -0/+4He obviously had a veil of deception. LGuk ftw!
    • cruzinhe, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2Men who hit women will do so regardless wether they play an online RPG or not, they're a@#holes, and they didn't learn that in game.

      Just the same as unfaithful people, they will continue to cheat no matter what kind of relationship they have.

      But I wouldn't go looking for love into an online game... I'd rather bring the love to it, that's why I took my wife into WoW =P

    • Ljay90, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1...I think I know where you're wife's coworker went... just read the comment above yours...
  • exomni, on 07/22/2008, -1/+8Yes, it is. Finding love on an online game is one thing. LOOKING for love on one is entirely different.

    And just because someone plays videogames doesn't mean they'd tolerate you playing or talking about them constantly. Nor would those who do tolerate such talk necessarily play videogames.
    • Relasz, on 07/22/2008, -1/+2Although I've been in disagreement with a lot of the idiots here, you have hit the nail right on the head.

      You can't use it as a dating service.

      You play the game, and if you happen to meet someone you like, fantastic.

      My problem is that I thought most of the people commenting would understand this -- but I suppose most Digg readers probably fail at basic comprehension of simple concepts.

      Oh well.
      • Sakumi, on 07/22/2008, -0/+1These 2 comments are exactly correct. I met my gf in a game, but neither of us were looking for that sort of things.. we just became close friends and it moved beyond that. She now lives here and we're happy *shrug*

        Looking for love in a MMORPG is just as difficult, or more so, than real life. Most people meet new people by chance, as i did, in game or out of game.
  • mrzack, on 07/22/2008, -9/+5I use WoW to spread 9/11 truth.
  • PhantomSoul, on 07/22/2008, -0/+2Stupid? Not really. Geeky? Perhaps...

    I mean, it is a social environment at the end of the day, so if that's the mode you feel comfortable socializing in, I don't see why not...

    That said though, its definitely not for everyone, if not most people...
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